FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball team played its final game before the Christmas break here Sunday afternoon as the ThunderWolves fell 86-54 to 17th-ranked Colorado State in an exhibition contest at Moby Arena. 
 
While the ThunderWolves played the game as an exhibition contest, the nationally ranked Rams counted the game on their record and improved to 10-1 on the season. 
 
The Pack were led offensively by 16 points from junior guard Armon Muldrew (Perris, Calif./San Bernardino Valley), while senior guard Brevin Walter (Las Vegas, Nev./South Dakota Mines) added 13 points. Junior forward De'Shaun Cooper (Poway, Calif./Balboa School) tallied eight points and senior guard Makiah Morris (San Diego, Calif./San Diego City College) had seven points.
 
CSU Pueblo held a 6-4 lead just 3:30 into game following a lay-up by Morris. In fact, Morris' lay-up capped a 4-0 run by the Pack as Muldrew scored with 18:01 left in the opening half to tie the game at 4-all.
 
Following Morris' lay-up, the Rams used a 14-2 run over the next six minutes to take an 18-8 lead with 12:24 left in the opening half. The Pack would answer back with back-to-back baskets by Cooper and Walter to pull within 18-12 with 10:44 left in the opening half.
 
That would be as close as the Pack would get as the Rams responded with a 20-2 run to extend its lead to 38-14 with 3:25 left in the half. The Pack, though, closed the first half on a 12-8 run to cut the Rams' lead to 46-26 at the half.
 
In the opening half, CSU shot 55 percent from the field and made nine treys (9-for-17) and forced nine Pack turnovers that led to 15 points. The Pack shot 37 percent from the field and was 4-for-13 from the 3-point line.
 
The Rams would extend its halftime lead 57-32 just four-plus minutes into the second half, before the Pack used a 13-7 run capped by basket from Muldrew to pull within 64-45 with 10:39 left in the game. The Pack run was keyed by seven points from Walter.
 
CSU would eventually push its lead to as much as 32 points at 86-54 following a dunk by Kyle Evans with 1:06 remaining in the game. Evans' dunk capped the game's scoring.
 
After being outscored 46-26 in the first half, the Pack were only outscored by 12 points (40-28) in the second half.
 
Isaiah Stevens led five Rams in double figures with 18 points and added four rebounds and six assists. In addition to Stevens, Patrick Cartier, Taviontae Jackson and Nique Clifford each scored 13 points and Joel Scott, who was the Division II Player of the Year last season playing at Black Hills State, added 11 points in the victory.
 
The Rams held a 40-30 edge on the glass as Clifford pulled down nine boards to pace the Rams, while Walter, Muldrew and freshman forward Ty Adam (Severance, Colo./Severance) each had four rebounds for the Pack.
 
For the game, Pack shot 34 percent from the field and 18 percent (4-for-22) from the 3-point line, including going 0-for-9 from long distance in the second half, while CSU shot 51 percent from the field and 39 percent from the 3-point line.

The Pack finished with 20 turnovers that led to 31 points for the Rams. CSU had 15 turnovers and 15 steals, including five by Jackson. The Pack had eight steals and six assists.
 
CSU Pueblo was 12-for-15 (80 percent) from the free throw line, while CSU was 18-for-23 (78.3 percent) at the line.
 
The Pack will now take 18 days off before returning to the court as they travel to Grand Junction, Colo., for a 7:30 p.m. Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game on Friday, Jan. 5 against eighth-ranked Colorado Mesa. The following day, Saturday, Jan. 6, the Pack will play a 7 p.m. game in Salt Lake City, Utah, against Westminster.